Rockets Return to Houston, Host Kings in Home Opener
A King’s Welcome. Rearview Mirror. The Kentucky Debut.
Home. Whether it’s a physical place, a feeling, or a state-of-mind, we all know what home means. “There’s no place like home,” the well-known sentiment Dorothy states in The Wizard of Oz has been echoed countless times since the film debuted decades ago. You’ve heard it somewhere. And now.. finally, the Rockets return home to Toyota Center for their home opener to face a young, upstart Sacramento Kings squad. Houston lost its first two games, on the road in Portland and Denver, so the squad will be looking for a welcome homecoming to get back on track. The Kings are 3-1, with two victories over Denver, the team the Rockets lost to in their last game. Is this the season Sacramento breaks into the playoff fold out West? We’ll see, but to start, Sac-Town looks as good as they’ve had in years.
Houston’s own king, James Harden, returns home, that is, if Houston is still the place he wants to call home, along with his Rockets teammates on New Year’s Eve. And tonight, the Beard will have more help than he did in the first two games. John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins will make their much-anticipated debuts in Houston on Thursday. The Kentucky duo are both coming off lengthy injuries (Especially John Wall, who hasn’t played a regular season game in over two years), but they looked very promising in the pre-season. Wall looks to have regained his quick first step that allows him to easily slip by defenders. And “Boogie” Cousins looked versatile, being able to play in the post, as well as knock down the Rockets patented three-point bucket. Hopefully, with these two All-Stars in the fold, Houston can start piling on the wins, and maybe, just maybe, convince Harden to stay home, in Houston, where he belongs.
Sacramento and Houston have some eerily similar ties. The Rockets’ Ben McLemore was drafted by the Kings, but he never found his niche in Sacramento before finding a home in Houston. DeMarcus Cousins was also drafted by the Kings, where he averaged over 20 points and 10 boards for six and-a-half seasons, establishing himself as one of the league’s premier big men. Sacramento’s GM, Monte Morris, worked for the Rockets the previous 13 years, and the King’s best player De’Aaron Fox, is from the Houston area. Not that any of this matters, but expect Fox to have an efficient and stellar game returning to his hometown, and look for Cousins to have a strong debut for the Rockets, as players love battling their former teams.
Tonight’s home opener is the first of two games in a row at home vs. Sacramento at this early stage in the season. With Houston dropping their first two games, and the Dallas Mavericks set to come to town after the Kings leave, the Rockets need to win tonight to gain some confidence. Especially considering they have nearly a full-roster, and a clean bill of health. There’s no excuses for losing tonight. Starting tonight, and for the foreseeable future (until something that requires a change happens), will be Wall, Harden, House, Tucker, and Christian Wood. It will be interesting to see how Cousins, a starter for the majority of his career, takes to coming off the bench. It sounds like he won’t have any problems with this situation. Sure, Houston hasn’t played together, this group in particular hasn’t played together much at all. But the Rockets are too talented, with three former All-Stars on their team, to get beat by a Kings team with zero All-Stars. If Houston follows Ja’Sean Tate and P.J. Tucker’s lead, and play with that level of ferocious energy and intensity, the Rockets should win tonight. But who knows what to expect with this new Rockets group. One thing for sure is, it’s good to be back in Houston… there’s no place like home.
Toyota Center: Houston, Texas
Jersey Colors:
Sacramento Kings (3-1): Black
Houston Rockets (0-2): Blue “City Edition”
TV: 6 PM CT – AT&T Sportsnet SW